10 Things You Had No Idea Happened at Christmas

Susie - Friday 16 December 2016

It’s the most wonderful time of the year where consumerism is at an all-time high. Our Christmas dinners have gotten fancier, to the point where our homes will resemble one of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares on Christmas Day. There’s always someone down the road who’s trying to out-do the festive illuminations inside and outside their homes, and you could probably top them with personalised Christmas tree decorations if you really wanted to. But, let’s be honest, chrimbo wouldn’t be the same without all this Christmas palaver, and it’s a time that really does bring families together.

…Until it comes to presents. Christmas presents are notoriously difficult to buy and the pickier the receiver, the harder it is to buy. They’re expensive and no matter what you pick, you never know whether the recipient truly likes it. It doesn't hurt to go down the personalised Christmas gift route, to make presents more special!

We want to enlighten you on what happens when you buy, receive, and give gifts during the holidays with the top 10 things you had no idea happened at Christmas. We surveyed 2,000 people from the UK, with a gender split of 1,020 women and 980 men, from an age range between 18 – 55+, and the results were both shocking and hilarious. It does beg the question though, is honesty really the best policy?!

Number 10

For the regions: 52% of those asked from East Midlands preferred to give presents on the big day. The big spender award goes to those from the North East where a staggering 23% of people confessed they would spend over £600 on gifts at Christmas. Only 6% of those in the East Midlands said they would spend the same amount and 67% of those from Yorkshire and Humber, and 64% of from London, state that they have received unwanted gifts (best to plan ahead next year).

Number 9

Age is nothing but a number, right? It’s a big factor for preference. Over 27% of ages 18-24 prefer to receive a gift from their mothers compared to their partners.

Number 8

Travel forward in time by 15 years (age range 35-44) and the percentage of those who enjoy receiving from their mothers decreases by over 20%. People instead look forward to gifts from their partners at over 40% (this is because we’re most likely married at this age, and we more or less know what our partners really want, or they’ll make damn sure we know).

Number 7

Over 40% of those asked said they would spend between £100 - £300 on Christmas Gifts in total. That’s nearly less 50% than data acquired in 2015 (link to sources).

Number 6

This one comes as no surprise as males are rather hard-to-buy-for: out of everyone who took part, 10% said they preferred shopping for mum over dad.

Number 5

Of those we surveyed, only 1% said they enjoyed buying for their dads, and would rather buy for their pets! (dogs are better than humans so we can understand this.)

Number 4

Comparing mother to father again, over 10% look forward to receiving a gift from their mum, and a measly 2% from their dads. (Guys, what's happening?)

Number 3

The millennials (age 18-24) seem to be the most selfish, with over 30% preferring to receive gifts, compared to only 6% of ages 55 and over.

Number 2

Just when you thought you were the only one who got socks you’d never even buy for someone you weren’t fond of, 60% of those surveyed said that they had received an unwanted gift at Christmas. Over 50% chose to then give them away, and 25% of people choose to sell them.

Number 1

Before you even think of committing this crime against humanity, the survey also showed that the ‘popular’ Selfie Stick was voted one of the worst #Christmas gifts to receive by both men and women, with 40% of the total vote of the survey we ran. Don’t panic. The shops are still open, you can still exchange and buy something better…

What do you think? Shocking results? Or were they what you expected? Don’t worry that you get unwanted presents and prefer buying for your pets. You now know, you are not alone. If you are struggling to find truly special Christmas presents, remember, making it personal will make it unique.